British Politics

British Politics provides an introduction to British politics with an emphasis on political science to analyse the fundamental features of British politics, and the key changes post-Brexit. Part A looks at constitutional and institutional foundations of the subject. Chapters in this part look at leadership and debating politics and law creation. The second part is about political behaviour and citizenship. Here chapters consider elections, the media, agenda setting, and political turbulence. The final part is about policy-making and delegation. The chapters in this part examine interest groups, advocacy, policy-making, governing through bureaucracy and from below, delegating upwards, and British democracy now.

On the origins of the methodology of social knowledge in Russia: A.S. Lappo-Danilevsky and contemporary discussions

The article considers those aspects of the development of sociological knowledge in Russia that were determined by the scientific and organizational activities of A.S. Lappo-Danilevsky (1863-1919). His contribution to the development of the Russian social and humanitarian thought is associated mainly with the development of the foundations of history, historiography and source studies, which is widely admitted in scientific works. However, Lappo-Danilevskys contribution to the development of sociology, to the identification of the specifics of its subject and to the creation of a model of systemic courses on the historical reconstruction of sociological knowledge are still widely discussed. The authors consider the creative component of Lappo-Danilevskys legacy and the strategy he developed for creating an interdisciplinary methodology for social sciences. The article aims at describing his contribution to the institutionalization of Russian sociology, which allows not only to clarify the origins of social knowledge in Russia, but also to actualize Lappo-Danilevskys legacy. The authors pose new questions and problematize the research potential of the works of Russian scientists at the turn of the 20th century, which has prospects for supplementing the history and methodology of sociology. The description of the activities of Lappo-Danilevsky - from the development of the institutional foundations of Russian sociology to the clarification of the methodological principles of social knowledge - raises the question of the influence of positivism and neo-Kantianism on the scientific community. On the other hand, the study of the scientific and organizational activities of Lappo-Danilevsky allow to expand the field of history and methodology of sociology by supplementing it with a description of the institutionalization of sociology in Russia. The study of the foundations of sociological knowledge emphasizes three points: creation of methodology, separation from related disciplines, and acceptance of the historical component in the development of academic sociology. The article also mentions contemporary discussions which consider the sociological legacy of Lappo-Danilevsky not only as a historical reconstruction of the development of social knowledge, but also in the interdisciplinary perspective of contemporary sociology.

Introduction

Why are Protestant societies more competitive and less corrupt than Roman Catholic ones? This book explains the hegemonic and emancipatory religious forces contributing to these disparities between 65 countries in Europe and the Americas. It argues that the uneven contributions of Roman Catholicism and Protestantism to prosperity are grounded in their different historical and institutional foundations and in the theologies that are pervasive in their countries of influence. This introduction establishes the historical context of the controversy and includes the aims, contributions, and shortcomings of this study.

The Post-entrepreneurial University: The Case for Resilience in Higher Education

Historically speaking, the university has been a highly resilient organizational form; however recent pressures to become entrepreneurial threaten the institutional foundations on which that reliance is based. The chapter first provides conceptual clarity by revisiting what we argue are two distinct schools of thought on the entrepreneurial university. We show how the economic school’s conception intertwines with the rise of New Public Management (NPM) in Europe in the late 1990s and early 2000s, reframing the concept in ways that made it incompatible with resilience thinking. However, we argue that by tying back into ‘lost’ elements of sociological school’s conception, and associating them with concepts from complex systems literature (loose coupling, slack, and requisite diversity), a hybrid model which is both resilient and entrepreneurial can be achieved. We call this the post-entrepreneurial university.

Development of Dual Technologies and Diffusion of Innovations of Military Sectors of the Economy into Civilian Ones: Potential of State Corporations and Conditions for its Implementation

The authors investigate the economic and institutional foundations of the functioning of state corporations. The study revealed the problem of diffusion of innovations from the military sectors to the civilian sectors, which significantly reduces the competitiveness of the latter. The experience of foreign countries, especially the United States, shows that dual technologies, the diffusion of innovations from the military sector into the civilian sector, can give an impetus to the development of civilian industries with obtaining high-quality, unique, competitive products on the world market. It is important to note that state corporations have the potential for the development of dual technologies, but the problem of coordinating the activities of controlled enterprises significantly reduces the possibilities for diversifying production.

The Contribution of Modern Chinese African Studies to the Promotion of National Interests in the African Direction

The article examines the development of African studies in modern China and the interrelationship between the attitude of the Chinese state to the development of national African studies, on the one hand, and the promotion of the national interests of the People’s Republic of China in the African direction, on the other. The paper explores the stages of the formation of Chinese African studies, the existing institutional foundations for the development of African studies in the country, the connection between the rapid quantitative growth and qualitative rise of African studies in China during the last decade and a half with the success of regular China–Africa Forums. The author exposes the scope of research topics of Chinese Africanists. A separate part of the article is devoted to the analysis of Chinese studies on relations between Russia and African states. It displays the assessments on the part of Chinese scholars of the Sochi (2019) Summit and the Russia–Africa Business Forum as well as the influence of the Russian Federation on the continent.

The institutional foundations of surf break governance in Atlantic Europe

The sport of surfing is best enjoyed with one rider on one wave, but crowding makes that optimal assignment increasingly hard to attain. This study examines the phenomenon of surf localism, whereby competitors are excluded from waves by intimidation and the threat of violence. An alternative way to accommodate crowds is contained in the surfer’s code, which sets informal rules and self-enforced regulations to avoid conflict in the water. Both regimes establish property rights over common pool resources with no state intervention, creating a setting wherein users face the question of cooperation or conflict. The disposition to cooperate and follow norms has been shown to vary substantially across different cultures, though. Employing data from over seven hundred surf spots on the European Atlantic coast, this study reports evidence that certain informal cultural norms significantly reduce the probability of violent exclusion, while formal state institutions mostly are irrelevant. The results also indicate that informal norms become more important with greater resource quality and, possibly, with increasing scarcity.